Musical Melodies
by astranova
Summary: College AU! The night Maka had planned to stay in the house with her Netflix account and a cup of green tea had warped into her being dragged to a music festival and meeting her potential soulmate as he performed for her on stage. To say it was one hell of night would be an understatement, of course. (I suck at summaries. I try though.)
1. Death Festival

**A/N:** I chose to make this a college AU and have Soul be an aspiring musician who has a voice of an angel that Maka falls head over heels for. Also, I made Black*Star's name change to Blake Barrett so that Black*Star could be his stage name as he is also a rapper and relatively good DJ. I've had this idea for quite a while but I never really flushed it out like I wanted until recently.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Soul Eater or any of its characters, because Maka and Soul would definitely be canon if that were case.

 **Warnings:** Swearing, sexual references, underage drinking, and smoking of cigarettes.

* * *

Maka Albarn hadn't been expecting to be dragged along to some music festival when she suggested having a relaxing evening with her best friend and her best friend's boyfriend, who also happened to be her annoying childhood neighbor growing up in Death City, Nevada. Her idea of a relaxing evening would have been reading a novel and drinking hot tea while sitting on the couch in a old vintage shirt with a pair of basketball shorts that she had stole from Blake's last visit to her and Tsubaki's apartment. But not before washing them, of course, because she did not want to contract any diseases from Blake at all.

However, things just didn't work in her favor for tonight and she was ultimately stuck as a third wheel in the back of Blake's 2018 Black Jeep Wrangler with no means of escape as Tsubaki thought it would be a funny joke as to put both doors in the backseat on child lock. The only thing good about tonight was her appearance and outfit―long ash blonde hair straight down instead of her usual style of pigtails, a black choker around her delicate cream neck, a black off-shoulder top with a pair of high-waisted vintage shorts, and original Adidas sneakers to top it off.

She had skipped out with the makeup routine because she did not really like a lot of makeup clogging her pores and instead she settled for pastel pink lip gloss that only highlighted the natural pink of her full lips. Tsubaki had lent her some hoop earrings that were the size of a quarter to go with the multiple studs that were pierced in along each of her earlobes, thinking that was all she needed to potentially find a hookup tonight.

"She's sulking again, Star. I hope she's not mad at me for forcing her to come tonight. I just wanted her to have some real fun for once." Tsubaki whispered to Blake, as she looked back at Maka in the driver's mirror with guilt filling her eyes. "She's always locked in her room with her nose in a book and I don't believe that's healthy."

"I'm sure she's not mad at you, Baki. You're her favorite best friend in the whole world and the best girlfriend a man could have, not even she can be pissed at you for longer than 4 hours. Maka just has to pull that stick from her ass and then she'll be―FUCK!" Blake's speech was cut off by Maka's sneaker connecting harshly with his thick skull that adorned a brain the size of a damn pea and now a size 6 dent as a result of his non-filtered insult towards the girl.

"Firstly, I can hear you both seeing as your whispering skills suck. Secondly, Tsubaki, I'm not entirely mad at you but the fact that my planned evening was ruined is a part of my bad mood. Finally, Blake. You being you is a problem in itself." Maka listed as she grabbed her shoe from Blake's lap and placed it back on her feet.

Blake and Tsubaki nodded in silence as they continued forth with their journey to the Desert of Death, the place of where the music festival was being held and their destination for tonight. In the back, Maka leaned on the window as she focused her gaze on the beautiful sunset of the Nevada desert plains, to take her mind off the definite wild night she was soon to endure and probably regret if she knew there would be others like Blake there.

The truck finally came to a stop as Blake parked his vehicle in a space close to an extravagant white BMW M4 that looked as though it probably belonged to the richest man alive. Maka wasn't expecting a local music festival to feature celebrities and only really believed indie bands and aesthetic artists would be performing―maybe she'd see one of her favorite artists by chance tonight.

"Albarn, welcome to the Desert of Death music festival! Do try and have some fun tonight instead of becoming an introvert and hiding by all the virgin drinks like you do when we go out to clubs. Trust me on this one." Blake exclaims as he pulled two lawn chairs for himself and Tsubaki from the trunk of his Jeep and threw Maka hers with ease, as expected of someone who worked out daily and trained as a pro MMA fighter for a while. "Watch where you throw that, Blake! Not all of us have the upper body strength of a gorilla like you do, okay."

"We better head in before we miss the performances, guys. Maka, feel free to do anything you please and try not to stick to yourself the whole night. As your best friend and roommate, I give you full permission to bring home a guy and hook up with him. Just have fun and let go tonight!" Tsubaki encouraged whilst pushing Maka along into the crowded space of the festival, occasionally bumping shoulders with random people and running into things. Maka could only chuckle at Tsubaki's antics and nod at her so that she would be released, though that didn't stop her from noticing how much Blake had an influence over the usually timid girl. It was like a case of 'good girl gone halfway bad'.

* * *

As the crew shuffled through the crowds of sweaty people and parading folks, they came across a field of people waiting to see whatever band was set to play in a few minutes and it seemed as though the performers were well-known, considering the crowd. Maka was never one for music and instruments as they were practically foreign to her and she did not have a talent for music like Blake did or a good ear like Tsubaki―to her, music was a drug that she always heard of but never attempted to try. Blake and Tsubaki had found a nice space close to the stage but not so close that their eardrums would burst from the loud festival music and set up their lawn chairs in a secluded corner that isolated them from prying eyes. All Maka could do was roll her eyes at the couple in playful disgust and hope that one day that'd be her with her dream beau, though she was not in a rush to find him.

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen! To our fantastically outrageous Desert of Death Music Festival! Tonight's performers are rising stars and upcoming artists ready to show the world what they are made of so as an audience, let's give them the support and welcome they deserve!" The energetic announcer shouted out to the patient crowd, receiving eager screams in response from intoxicated fans and stoned partygoers that easily irritated Maka by their vociferous tone.

Blake and Tsubaki were watching her closely and snorted at the look of annoyance she displayed, seeing how she clearly was not made out for the festival life or socializing in general. The two enjoyed torturing their bookworm almost as much as they loved being with each other and to see her so uncomfortable in an unfamiliar location was worth the effort―at least in their perspective, of course.

"Our first performer takes the stage with his fresh new song, _Supernova_! Please welcome Mr. Soul 'Eater' Evans to the stage!" The announcer introduced as Maka watched as a handsome young man with lucious bronze skin and a head full of silver hair adorned with a pair of piercing blood red orbs. She had never seen someone so physically attractive before in her life so close to her and as she observed his broad shoulders that balanced out with his lean yet muscular stature, Maka couldn't help but stare in satisfaction.

 _I feel like Atlas, I got my back stretched_

 _You wanna grab this, you don't understand this_

 _I keep it oppressed, work on my realness_

 _Reading my manifest, I'll address your request_

Soul sang like an angel from heaven sent by God himself and if that had not convinced Maka more to stand from her spot in her lawn chair and start swaying her hips to the smooth beat of the song, then surely Soul's mischievous smirk did. Maka swore to all the gods up above that Soul had directed that sly smile at her as he continued to lure everyone with his angelic voice, but she also thought it was just to add to his already seductive appearance.

 _I've been waking up drenched in sweat_

 _All my dreams, full of my regret (my regret)_

 _I keep hearing what my mother said_

 _Eyes are open, all I see is red_

The way he had hit those high notes for some lines of the song had Maka wrapped around his finger and it wasn't a stretch to think that he had done it intentionally, because even Blake and Tsubaki had noticed the way that Soul had been scanning every inch of Maka's body as though she were next week's groceries. It was even funnier to Blake because he knew the performer on a personal and friendly level, though he wouldn't let that slip until him and Maka have met properly. Maka must've caught on as well, judging by the way she had crossed her arms over her top and twirled her hair around her slim fingers in embarrassment but never broke the eye contact between her and her newfound admirer.

 _I met you in California_

 _You told me you loved him in Georgia_

 _Your heart's in the ground, frozen over_

 _My heart's in the sky, supernova_

By the time his song ended, Soul had everyone in the crowd up on their feet and hollering in satisfying enjoyment along with the cute blonde he had separated from the rest of crowd. She had not been impressed when he first was announced but as she seen him and heard his talented vocals, she slowly fell under his spell just like every other girl he's ever sung in front of―however, she was different because unlike other girls, she had tried to ignore his voice and act as though she was being forced to enjoy his music. She did not want to seem like some desperate and young chick that wanted a quickie in the back of his brand-new sports car, but rather a girl who was actually interested in his music and would like to hear more even on a personal level if given the chance. Soul had gathered this hidden information just by gazing into those adorable shamrock colored eyes that adorned her plump yet sharp facial structure and reading what they were expressing. She was a tricky one, indeed.

As Maka returned to her seat in the lawn chair after that little show, she yearned to see more of that albino performer just as much as he did her but she had not known that. The way that he admired her from afar and picked her of all the girls in the crowd had made her feel special and genuinely adored by a man for the first time in a long time, which did something to her both physically and mentally. He made her flustered by just looking at her and showing off that sharp-toothed smirk of his―and to do that to **the** Maka Albarn meant that they had something worth her time of day.

"I definitely have to see him again, and soon." And her wish would be granted soon enough with impeccable timing.


	2. One Tough Cookie

**A/N:** I chose to use gender-neutral pronouns to refer to Crona, seeing as though we never really given a confirmed gender for the character anyway and I wanted to make them asexual as I feel they wouldn't really feel romantic love towards anyone else as they were kept away from society for almost their entire teenage years.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Soul Eater or any of its characters, because Maka and Soul would definitely be canon if that were case.

 **Warnings:** Swearing, sexual references, underage drinking, and smoking of cigarettes.

* * *

After the festival had came to an end, the trio decided that it was time to head back to the apartment and get the completely wasted Blake into bed before he could do something as spontaneous as himself while piss drunk. A few too many Sazeracs was all it took for him to become trashed and make a fool of himself but luckily, Tsubaki was there to help Maka control the raging Blake and made sure that she was there to stabilize him whenever the alcohol possessed his mind.

Maka knew that she would become the designated driver that night and was she glad that Blake had taught her the ropes of how his Jeep operated because then she'd have to be the one to watch the drunk bastard. The ride on the way to the apartment was fairly quiet as Blake knocked himself out after succumbing the overly powerful Sazerac and Tsubaki followed but only because she knew her boyfriend would sure enough keep her up all night with his problem, which meant that she had to get all the sleep she could in while possible.

Maka assisted in helping Tsubaki drag Blake upstairs into their decent-sized living space and dropped him right on the couch but not before pulling the makeshift bed from inside the springs so that Tsubaki could also be comfortable while tending to him. Tsubaki changed Blake into his Calvin Klein underwear and then undressed herself into a T-shirt nightgown brought from the PINK section of Victoria's Secret, or Painful Pleasure as Maka would comically dub the underwear store.

"Thanks for all your help, Maka. I can take it from here now." Tsubaki whispered to Maka as she tucked in Blake with the thin bedspread from the closet so he could sleep in comfort. Maka chuckled at Tsubaki's antics and gave a small smile before retreating to her own room down the hall to sleep off the night, and probably to dream about the handsome singer from the festival.

Maka awoke around ten o'clock the next morning in desperate need of a cup of coffee and her usual blueberry bagel from Bittersweet Bites―conveniently right across the street from where her and Tsubaki's apartment stood and that made it easy for her to get without doing too much unnecessary movement. The night before had left her all disoriented in the brain because of that little encounter with her melodical musician and trying to help Tsubaki with Blake, which directly caused a bit of necessary TLC to be needed the next day and who was she to complain, right?

Maka glanced at her calendar for the month of June and noticed that today was a Saturday―particularly the Saturday that she had took the night shift at her and Tsubaki's shared job at Death's Dairy Market, an ice cream place that was managed by their close friend of eight years and counting. Letting out a tired sigh, Maka shuffled out of bed and reluctantly made her way to the small bathroom to get ready for her predictable day. Her daily bathroom routine going as it always would, starting with her taking a moderately warm shower and washing her ash blonde tresses that ended with her dressing in the DDM's uniform and putting her hair in a messy bun of sorts for the day.

Knowing that Blake and Tsubaki were probably still asleep, Maka made sure that when she came down the hall, she made as little noise as possible―aside from the eerie creaking of the second plank that was loose from the wooden floor. Though, she wasn't ready for the sight that stood between her and her graceful exit out the door. There on the couch that she _paid_ for was Blake Barrett, as naked as the day he was born, hovering over the equally naked and flushed Tsubaki Nakatsukasa.

"My eyes suffer enough as is watching you two be a couple everyday. You couldn't take this to the room before I walked in?" Maka sighed, snatching her car keys and wallet from the kitchen counter. "Feel free to continue when I leave. Just clean up behind yourselves, with Bleach."

They nodded as they watched her leave the apartment in a hurry to avoid further damage. "Washboard's finally gone. Shall we continue our fun, Baki?"

"We shall, Blake." Tsubaki seductively whispered in Blake's ear, nipping at the top of his left earlobe. "Or should I say, _Black*Star_?"

Tsubaki knew exactly what she had been doing from the moment they woke up, and boy did she know the way to her man's penis.

* * *

After leaving that corrupted apartment, Maka stopped by Bittersweet Bites to grab the much needed blueberry bagel and iced coffee that made up her morning breakfast and chatted with Crona, a part-timer who seemed to fit right into Maka's crowd. The bell which alerted workers of potential customers sounded as Maka entered with a twisted expression still lingering on her face―a look that was all too familiar with Crona and the rest of the workers at the local cafe.

"Good morning, Maka. The usual?" Crona asked, already starting on the bagel portion of her meal but halting once they turned to see her in one of her moods. "Let me guess. Blake and Tsu going at it like jack rabbits, again?"

Maka gestured a sarcastic thumbs-up to Crona as she leaned her head on the counter.

"I swear, Crona. It's like they don't have self-control and I'd expect this behavior from Blake but Tsubaki's usually more contained than this."

"Blake has an influence on Tsubaki that is unbreakable, for sure." Crona stated as they poured the iced coffee in a coffee cup before sealing it with a plastic lid. "However, I think you should cut them some slack, Maka dearest."

Maka picked her head up in a flash after hearing those words come out of her friend's mouth. How could Crona deceive her like that? Maka thought they were agreeing with her about the lack of self-control the couple exhibited but now, they were contrasting her reason with merciful sympathy. The world must be really against her this morning, she thought as nothing played in her favor since the incident in her apartment.

"And why should I? It's also my apartment and living space that they have to respect." Maka defended, taking her meal from Crona's hands. "Before I go, tell me one good reason why I shouldn't get on their case?"

"Well, since I know you're one tough cookie to crumble, I realize that convincing you is pointless. Take this as you will, Maka, but place yourself in their shoes. Would you do the same if you had someone that loved you like Blake does Tsubaki?" Crona reasoned with the stubborn woman.

There was no way any man would find Maka tolerable or attractive enough to fall in love with. Though, Maka had to admit that Crona did catch her there―knowing that if she had brung home a potential love interest, she would indeed not think about her actions and would be too much involved with the other to care. Accepting her defeat, Maka took her meal into her hands and turned to walk out of the quiet cafe but not before saying farewell to Crona, who smirked as she exited the shop as they knew they had taken the biggest win of the day.

"That girl seriously needs some good dick-me-down time and quick, if you ask me."

"Ragnarok!"

* * *

Maka sat behind the counter of the ice cream parlor with her phone propped up against the cash register as she watched an episode of Riverdale―something she did when close to closing time for the shop as opposed to doing chores like wiping down chocolate-stained tables and sweeping up rainbow sprinkles from the tiled floors. Chores like those was left for Liz Thompson and Killik Rung, who were fellow co-workers of hers that were assigned to closing up shop by Kid himself and as the manager, what he said went.

She had started getting to the good section of the episode where Betty and Jughead finally reconcile with each other and make amends for their previous actions at the start of the season when she had been rudely interrupted by the noise of someone walking into the shop. Maka, naturally not wanting to serve any customers so close to closing, paused her show and turned her head to deny the customer of their service but was unable to continue as she found herself staring at a pair of familiar red orbs.

The stranger must've known her like she known him because he stared into her forest green eyes like they were the latest jewels on the market―and just as their eyes remembered, so did their minds.

"You wouldn't happen to be the Soul 'Eater' Evans, would you?" Maka asked, turning all the way to face him for a much better look. "The same Soul 'Eater' Evans who performed at Death Festival the other night and hit it big with the female crowd there?"

Soul chuckled as he nodded in conformation of his identity. "I remember you, especially though. Those green eyes and that independent attitude had me hooked from the moment I saw you. I sang to you on purpose, you know."

"I've came to that conclusion later that night and I didn't know why you did it, but I'm not complaining." Maka said as she averted her eyes in embarrassment from the flattering compliments. "But why choose me out of all the women there?"

Soul could easily answer this with his hands tied behind his back. "Please, those squealing jailbaits were as woman as my niece. I was attracted to the real woman with those mesmerizing orbs adorned with glowing ash blonde locks that was tied with a strong can-do attitude. And come to find out, she also works at an ice cream parlor― _delicious_."

Maka felt overwhelmed by how strong Soul was coming off, and to be honest, it made her both uncomfortably scared and desperate for more sweet talk that seemed almost foreign to her. "Not all of us are as musically talented like you are, Mr. Evans."

Soul held his hands up in defense, showing his intention was to joke and not offend. He had heard her chuckle lowly beneath her breath at his antics and could not get enough of the lovely sound―it was music to his ears. This girl had something about her that just made him tick, not in a bad way, but the type of tick that most teenage boys felt over some high school crush and made them want to rub one out to the thought of that crush. "I jest, jest. By the way, you never even told me your name. I think it'd be fair game to know considering you know mine."

Maka facepalmed gently as she let out a groan for her lack of manners. "I'm so sorry about that. My name's Maka Albarn, pleasure to meet your acquaintance." She introduced as she held her hand out for Soul to shake, to which he did with ease.

"Albarn. You wouldn't happen to be the daughter of the famous 'Death Scythe', known formally as Spirit Albarn, would you? He's a legend around the jazz scene―known for his killer music and instrumentals along with his partner, 'The Reaper'." Soul gushed on as he had his moment of geeking out about Maka being related to a musical legend that gave him confidence to pursue his own music.

Maka nodded and let out a tired sigh at the mention of her biological parent. "As much as I hate to admit it, Spirit is my biological father but he's a deadbeat as far as I'm concerned. Not much to say about the guy either, seeing as he left his wife and infant daughter behind to live a life with groupies and paparazzi trailing after his every move."

Soul seemed surprised at the disdain heard in Maka's tone of voice when speaking of her father, though he didn't understand why. In almost every interview he's ever seen with Spirit in it, all that man does is speak nothing but good things about his precious Kami and darling Maka. Although he had some questions, Soul ultimately decided that it was none of his business anyway and kept his mouth closed about anything relating to her ties with Spirit―marking it a sensitive subject.

"Sorry about bringing him up, though. I didn't know the behind-the-scenes and I'm pretty sure that I don't want to dig up old dirt that doesn't need to be dug. Bad analogy, I know." Soul spit out without thinking, clearly evident in the nervous glint of his eyes.

Maka waved it off as something of the past and had been amused by Soul's messy attempt to make amends for bringing up that man's name so much―to point of teasing him further. "I don't believe that was an analogy."

Soul jerked his head up in defeat, even more conscious of how he was making a fool of himself. "It wasn't?"

"No." Maka tried to keep her snickers in her throat but they were not to be restrained and escaped in the form of a genuine snort. "It was most definitely an idiom. I can tell you're not booksmart."

"Oh, shut it, Albarn. Listen, I originally came in here to get ice cream but I ended up finding the girl who stalked my dreams for the past 24 hours―cool, right? Anyways, before I leave so you can close up shop, please do me a favor and exchange numbers with me so I can get to know you better." Soul implored as he took a nearby Post-It and scribbled his number down on it with a pen to give to the blushing cashier.

Maka had not expected their banter to take a turn in this direction but she'd be wrong in denying that her heart was not quaking at this very moment from the initiative Soul displayed. "Since I have to pack up and go, how about I take your number and text you on my way to my apartment?"

Soul sheepishly nodded and handed her the pen he took from beside the register. "Sure, not a problem. I guess that means I'll hear from you later, then. I should probably get going myself anyway. I'll be waiting for that text, Albarn."

And with that the freakishly handsome Soul exited the parlor, leaving Maka both stunned and stoked at what just occurred in the last 15 minutes of the quiet Saturday night. There was no words to describe how much Maka wanted to scream out in pure joy from this little interaction and it was just surreal to her that the man who she had been sure had sang to her at the festival, had just randomly waltzed into the place where she worked and asked her for her number. What did she did to deserve this? The world may never know.


End file.
